Chandrayaan:

IndIa’s fIrst moon mIssIon

By: Sushil Parti

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WHY GO TO MOON?????
 THE FIRST, OF COURSE, THE SCIENTIFIC GOALS
THAT DESPITE MANY MISSIONS OF THE PAST,
THE QUESTION OF ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF
MOON STILL REMAINS UNANSWERED.

 SPACE PROGRAMME FOR LUNAR EXPLORATION

WAS UNDERTAKEN AS EARLY AS 1959. SEVERAL
LUNAR EXPLORATORY MISSIONS SINCE THEN
HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED AND IT WAS NOW
INDIA’S TURN TO SHOW THEM WHAT POTENTIAL
WE HAVE. INDIA CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE OUT
IN ITS ABILITY TO PURSUE EXPLORATION.

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 WHY GO TO MOON??(Contd.)
 APART FROM THESE POLITICAL AND SCIENTIFICAL
MOON COULD HAVE ECONOMIC BENEFITS FOR MANKIND
AND COULD BE OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
1. THE MOON’S SURFACE IS BELIVED TO HAVE
ABOUT ONE MILLION TONNES OF HELIUM-3.
2. MOON CONTAINS 10 TIMES MORE ENERGY IN
HELIUM-3 THAN ALL THE FOSSIL FUELS ON EARTH.
3.HELIUM-3 IS BELIEVED TO BE FUEL OF THE
FUTURE AS IT IS POLLUTION FREE AND PRODUCES
LARGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY.
 OUTPOST FOR FURTHER PLANETARY EXPLORATIONS AND
POSSIBLE HUMAN SETTLEMENTS.

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 INTRODUCTION
 THE WORD CHANDRAYAAN – 1 IS DERIVED FROM A
SANSKRIT WORD LITEARLLY MEANING MOON
VECHILE.
 IT IS INDIA’S FIRST MISSION TO MOON DEVOLPED
BY ISRO (INDIAN SPACE RESARCH ORGANISATION).
 THE MISSION INCLUDES A LUNAR ORBITER AND AN
IMPACTOR.
 IT WAS LAUNCHED ON 22 OCTOBER 2008 WITH
HELP OF A MODIFIED VERSION OF PSLV XL FROM
SATISH DHAWAN SPACE CENTRE, SRIHARIKOTA,
ANDHRA PRADESH AT 6:23 IST.
 ESTIMATED COST - RS 386 CRORE
(US$ 80 MILLION)
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HISTORY
 THE IDEA OF UNDERTAKING AN INDIAN
SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO MOON WAS INITIALLY
MOOTED IN A MEETING OF THE INDIAN ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES IN 1999 THAT WAS FOLLOWED UP BY
DISCUSSIONS IN THE ASTRONAUTICAL SOCIETY
OF INDIA IN 2000.
 A NATIONAL LUNAR MISSION TASK FORCE WAS
CONSTITUTED BY THE INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH
ORGANISATION (ISRO) PROVIDED AN
ASSESSMENT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF AN INDIAN
MISSION TO THE MOON AS WELL AS DWELT ON
THE FOCUS OF SUCH A MISSION AND ITS
POSSIBLE CONFIGURATION.
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 THE STUDY REPORT OF THE TASK TEAM WAS
DISCUSSED IN APRIL 2003 BY A PEER GROUP OF
ABOUT 100 EMINENT INDIAN SCIENTISTS,WHO
AFTER DETAILED DISCUSSIONS RECOMMENDED
THAT INDIA SHOULD UNDERTAKE THE MISSION
TO MOON.
 THEREFORE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA APPROVED
ISRO'S PROPOSAL FOR THE FIRST INDIAN MOON
MISSION, CALLED CHANDRAYAAN-1 IN NOVEMBER
2003.

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Objectives of the Chandrayaan-1
Mission
¥ SIMULTANEOUS MINERALOGICAL, CHEMICAL &
PHOTO-GEOLOGICAL MAPPING AT RESOLUTIONS
BETTER THAN PREVIOUS AND CURRENTLY
PLANNED LUNAR MISSIONS.
¥ HIGH RESOLUTION MAPPING OF THE LUNAR
SURFACE TO IDENTIFY FE, AL, MG, TI BEARING
MINERAL WITH HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION
(100M).
¥ HIGH RESOLUTION LASER RANGING FOR
TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF THE MOON (~0.1
DEG LONGITUDINAL SEPARATION GRIDS).

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OBJECTIVES OF THE CHANDRAYAAN -1
MISSION (Contd.)

¥ 3D MAPPING OF LUNAR SURFACE AT VERY HIGH

SPATIAL RESOLUTION (~5 M).

¥ CREATE EXPERTISE & MOTIVATE THE YOUNG

MINDS IN SPACE AND PLANETARY SCIENCE.

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SPECIFICATIONS:
 MASS:
1380 KG AT LAUNCH, 675 KG AT LUNAR ORBIT, AND
523 KG AFTER RELEASING THE IMPACTOR.
 DIMENSIONS:
CUBOID IN SHAPE OF APPROXIMATELY 1.5M.
 POWER:
MAINLY POWERED BY ITS SOLAR ARRAY, WHICH
INCLUDES ONE SOLAR PANEL COVERING A TOTAL
AREA OF 2.15 X 1.8 M GENERATING 700 W OF
POWER, STORED IN A 36 A-H LITHIUM-ION
BATTERY.USES A BIPROPELLANT INTEGRATED
PROPULSION SYSTEM.

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 IT HAS THREE SOLID STATE RECORDERS (SSRS)
ONBOARD TO RECORD DATA FROM VARIOUS
PAYLOADS.
 SSR-1 WILL STORE SCIENCE PAYLOAD DATA AND
HAS CAPABILITY OF STORING 32GB DATA.
 SSR-2 WILL STORE SCIENCE PAYLOAD DATA
ALONG WITH SPACECRAFT ATTITUDE
INFORMATION (GYRO AND STAR SENSOR),
SATELLITE HOUSE KEEPING AND OTHER
AUXILIARY DATA. THE STORING CAPACITY OF
SSR-2 IS 8GB.
 M3 (MOON MINERALOGY MAPPER) PAYLOAD HAS
AN INDEPENDENT SSR WITH 10GB CAPACITY.

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 PAYLOADS
 THE SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD HAS A TOTAL MASS OF
90 KG AND CONTAINS FIVE INDIAN AND SIX
FOREIGN INSTRUMENTS.

 INDIAN PAYLOADS
1.TERRAIN MAPPING CAMERA
2. HYPER SPECTRAL IMAGER
3.LUNAR LASER RANGING INSTRUMENT
4.HIGH ENERGY X-RAY PAYLOAD
5. MOON IMPACT PROBE

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 FOREIGN PAYLOADS

1. LOW ENERGY X- RAY PAYLOAD –> UK/ESA

2. MINI SAR –> NASA
3. SIR- 2 -> GERMANY/ESA
4. RADIATION DOSE MONITOR-> BULGARIA
5.MOON MINERALOGY MAPPER -> NASA
6.SARA -> JOINT VENTURE OF INDIA,
JAPAN AND ESA.

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HYPER SPECTRAL IMAGER

TERRAIN MAPPING CAMERA

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HIGH ENERGY X-RAY
SPECRTOMETER

X-RAY FLUORESENCE
SPECTROMETER
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SPACE FLIGHT OF CHANDRAYAAN
 SINCE ITS LAUNCH ON 22 OCTOBER 2008 AT 6:22
IST CHANDRAYAAN PERFORMED SEVERAL ENGINE
BURNS TO REACH GTO(GEOSTATIONARY
TRANSFER ORBIT) AROUND EARTH.
 ONCE IN GTO CHANDRAYAAN’S ON BOARD MOTOR
WAS FIRED TO INCREASE ITS ORBIT AROUND
EARTH.THE ORBIT WAS RAISED FIVE TIMES TO
PLACE THE SPACECRAFT IN VICINITY OF MOON’S
ORBIT.
 THEN THE ENGINE BURNS PLACED IT IN 100 KM
ORBIT OF MOON, AFTER WHICH MOON IMPACT
PROBE WAS FIRED ON LUNAR SURFACE.

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 MOON - IMPACT PROBE (MIP)
 MOON IMPACT PROBE IS AN IMPACT PROBE
WEIGHING 34 KG’S DEVOLPED BY ISRO .
 IT CARRIED THREE INSTRUMENTS – A VIDEO
IMAGING SYSTEM, MASS SPECTROMETER, RADAR
ALTIMETER.
 THE MIP CRASH LANDED ON LUNAR SURFACE ON 14
NOVEMBER 2008, 20:31 IST NEAR SHACKELTON
CRATER AT SOUTH POLE.
 MIP PLACED INDIAN FLAG ON LUNAR SURFACE.
 THE INDIAN FLAG WAS PAINTED ON THE SIDES OF
MIP.
 THIS IS FIRST INDIAN BUILT OBJECT TO REACH
SURFACE OF MOON. 19
MOON IMPACT PROBE(Contd.)

 WITH THE SUCCESS OF MIP INDIA HAS

SUCCESFULLY PLACED HER FLAG ON
MOON WHICH IS ALREADY HAVING
FLAGS OF USA, RUSSIA AND
ESA(EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY)
COMPRISING OF 17 NATIONS

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Ground Segment
 COMPRISES OF THREE MAJOR ELEMENTS :
 INDIAN DEEP SPACE NETWORK(IDSN).
 MISSION OPERATIONS COMPLEX(MOX).
 INDIAN SPACE SCIENCE DATA
CENTRE(ISSDC).
 IT ENSURES THE SUCCESS OF THE MISSION
BY PROVIDING TO AND FRO CONDUIT OF
COMMUNICATION, SECURING GOOD HEALTH
OF THE SPACECRAFT, MAINTAINING THE
ORBIT AND ATTITUDE TO THE REQUIREMENTS
OF THE MISSION AND CONDUCTING PAYLOAD
OPERATIONS.

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Ground Segment(CONTD.)
 THE GROUND SEGMENT IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE
FOR MAKING THE SCIENCE DATA AVAILABLE FOR
THE PAYLOAD SCIENTISTS ALONG WITH
AUXILIARY INFORMATION, IN ADDITION TO
ARCHIVING OF PAYLOAD AND SPACECRAFT DATA.
PAYLOAD OPERATION CENTRES (POCS) ALSO
FORM A PART OF THE GROUND SEGMENT.

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FIRST PICTURES SENT BY CHANDRAYAAN

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FUTURE MISSIONS

 Chandrayaan – 2
 AFTER THE SUCCESS OF CHANDRYAAN-1 ISRO IS
PLANNING TO LAUNCH CHANDRAYAAN –II HOPING
TO LAND A MOTORISED ROVER OVER LUNAR
SURFACE IN 2010.
 THE ROVER WILL COLLECT SOIL SAMPLES ,DO IN
SITE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND SEND DATA TO
BASE STATION ON EARTH THROUGH
CHANDRAYAAN-2 ORBITING AROUND EARTH.

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 soLar mIssIon – adItya

 ISRO HAS ALSO CONCEPTUALLY DEVOLPED A SUN

MISSION “ADITYA” WHICH HAS BEEN APPROVED
BY GOVERNMENT .
 ACC. TO THE CHAIRMAN OF ISRO G.MADHVAN
NAIR “THE SUCCESS OF CHANDRAYAAN-I HAS
BOOSTED UP THE CONFIDENCE OF ISRO
SCIENTISTS TO LOOK BEYOND MOON”.

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CRITICISM
 EVERY YEAR INDIA POURS 65 BILLION RUPEES
INTO HER SPACE PROGRAMME.

 WHAT IS A COUNTRY WITH A HUGE PUBLIC DEBT

DOING WITH A SPACE PROGRAMME?

 HOW MANY POOR PEOPLE COULD LEAD A BETTER

LIFE IF THIS MONEY HAD BEEN PUT TO USE FOR
THEIR GOOD?

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YES, POURING MORE MONEY INTO THE DEVELOPMENT
OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ELIMINATION OF POVERTY
IS DEFINITELY REQUIRED, AND RIGHTLY DESERVES
PRIORITY – HOWEVER, INDIA CANNOT AFFORD TO
WASTE THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE
WORLD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THAT IT
CURRENTLY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEIZE.

WIDER ROADS AND LESS CONGESTION ARE NOT

GOING TO BE REASONS FOR PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO
LIVE IN INDIA.

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CONSEQUENCES
A PROJECT LIKE CHANDRAYAAN HAS
CONSEQUENCES FAR BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
SCIENTIFIC ONES.
IT WILL INSPIRE MILLIONS OF STUDENTS TO
BECOME A PART OF OUR COUNTRY’S OWN SPACE
PROGRAMME.
IT WILL INSPIRE ALL THE INDIANS WORKING
IN VARIOUS FOREIGN SPACE AGENCIES THAT
THEY HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE TO WORK IN
INDIA.
INDIA MAY BE SEEN AS A VIABLE
TECHNOLOGICAL PARTNER AND CAN POSITION
ITSELF TO BE THE DESTINATION FOR
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
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CONSEQUENCES(CONTD.)
 OBVIOUSLY, A SINGLE SPACE MISSION
CANNOT BRING ABOUT THIS SEA OF
CHANGE. ISRO HAS AMBITIOUS PLANS
FOR ITS FUTURE, AND SEVERAL
COUNTRIES WILL BE OBSERVING ITS
PROGRESS WITH INTEREST.
 CHANDRAYAAN MIGHT MARK THE END
OF AN ERA - THE TIME WHEN INDIA
SEEMED TO HAVE TO MAKE DO WITH
MEDIOCRITY. HOPEFULLY, IT WILL
SIGNAL A PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH WE
SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS THAN
EXCELLENCE.

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 CONCLUSION
 THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF IMPRESSIVE MOMENTS
IN INDIA’S DEMOCRATIC HISTORY THAT HAVE
INSPIRED MILLIONS TO TAKE PRIDE IN OUR COUNTRY.
THE FIRST NUCLEAR TEST IN 1974, WINNING THE
CRICKET WORLD CUP IN 1983, OUR VICTORIES ON THE
BATTLEFIELD AGAINST AGGRESSIVE NEIGHBOURS, AND
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE IN 1997 ALL
COME TO MIND. NOW WE HAVE ONE MORE MOMENT TO
ADD TO THAT LIST.
 THE SUCCESS OF CHANDRAYAAN, INDIA’S
INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED MISSION TO THE MOON, IS
ONE THAT STANDS HIGH IN THE OUR LIST OF
ACHIEVEMENTS. HOPEFULLY, IT WILL BE ONE THAT
SIGNALS RADICAL CHANGE IN THE MANNER IN WHICH
INDIA IS PERCEIVED INTERNATIONALLY.

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